Elizabeth Moon

Early life

Moon was born Susan Elizabeth Norris and grew up in McAllen, Texas. She started writing when she was a child and first tried a book, which was about her dog, at age six. She was inspired to write creatively, and says that she began writing science fiction in her teens, considering it a sideline.

She earned a Bachelor's degree in History from Rice University in Houston, Texas in 1968 and later earned a second B.A. in Biology. In 1968, she joined the United States Marine Corps as a computer specialist, attaining the rank of 1st Lieutenant while on active duty. She married Richard Sloan Moon in 1969 and they have a son, Michael, born in 1983.

Writing career

Moon began writing professionally in her mid-thirties and had a newspaper column in a county weekly newspaper. In 1986, she published her first science fiction in the monthly magazine Analog and the anthology series Sword and Sorceress. Her stories appeared regularly in Analog the next few years. Her first novel The Sheepfarmer's Daughter (1988) won the Compton Crook Award and inaugurated the Paksennarrion series.

Most of her work has military science fiction themes, although biology, politics, and personal relationships also feature strongly. The Serrano Legacy is a space opera. Her Nebula-winning novel The Speed of Dark (2003) is a near-future story told from the viewpoint of an autistic computer programmer, inspired by her own autistic son Michael.

Other interests

Elizabeth Moon has many interests beside writing. She has a musical background, having played the accordion during her university days and sung in choirs. She is an accomplished fencer, and captain of the SFWA Musketeers, a group of published speculative fiction authors who also fence.

Moon is also an experienced paramedic and has served in various capacities in local government.

On September 11, 2010, she wrote a blog entry "Citizenship" about assimilation and an Islamic group that wanted to build a memorial center at/near the site of the 9/11 attack, which was "perceived by many as derogatory toward Muslims and immigrants". Because it "dismayed, angered and offended" the co-chairs and other people associated with WisCon 35, a feminist science fiction convention to be held in May 2011, her invitation to be a guest of honor was rescinded by WisCon's parent body.

Awards and nminations

1989: Compton Crook Award winner for Sheepfarmer's Daughter

1997: Hugo Award for Best Novel (nomination) for Remnant Population

2003: Nebula Award for Best Novel winner for The Speed of Dark

2003: Arthur C. Clarke Award (nomination) for The Speed of Dark

2007: Robert A. Heinlein Award for "outstanding published works in hard science fiction or technical writings that inspire the human exploration of space"

The Deed of Paksenarrion novels

1. Sheepfarmer's Daughter (June 1988)
2. Divided Allegiance (October 1988)
3. Oath of Gold (January 1989)

“Those Who Walk in Darkness” (March 1990)—short story set during Oath of Gold, included in the collections Lunar Activity and PhasesThe Deed of Paksenarrion (February 1992)—paperback omnibusThe Deed of Paksenarrion (October 2003)—hardcover omnibusThe Deed of Paksenarrion (January 2010)—paperback omnibus

The Legacy of Gird novels

1. Surrender None (June 1990)—prequel to The Deed of Paksenarrion
2. Liar's Oath (May 1992)—sequel to Surrender None

The Legacy of Gird (September 1996)—paperback omnibusto be available as A Legacy of Honour (paperback omnibus) in November 2010

Paladin's Legacy or Legend of Paksenarrion novels

1. Oath of Fealty (March 2010)—sequel to Oath of Gold
2. Kings of the North (March 2011)
3. Echoes of Betrayal (February 2012)
4. Limits of Power (June 2013)
5. Crown of Renewal (May 2014)

Familias Regnant universe

Heris Serrano trilogy

Hunting Party (July 1993)

Sporting Chance (September 1994)

Winning Colors (August 1995)

Esmay Suiza continuation

Once a Hero (Hardcover ISBN 0-671-87769-0, March 1997)

Rules of Engagement (Hardcover ISBN 0-671-57777-8, December 1998)

Suiza and Serrano

Change of Command (Hardcover ISBN 0-671-57840-5, December 1999)

Against the Odds (Hardcover ISBN 0-671-31961-2, December 2000)

Vatta's War

Trading in Danger (Hardcover ISBN 0-345-44760-3, October 2003)

Marque and Reprisal (Hardcover ISBN 0-345-44758-1, October 2004)—Moving Target in the UK, New Zealand and Australia

Engaging the Enemy (Hardcover ISBN 0-345-44756-5, March 2006)

Command Decision (Hardcover ISBN 978-0-345-49159-6, February 2007)

Victory Conditions (Hardcover ISBN 978-0-345-49161-9, February 2008)

Vatta's Peace

Cold Welcome (Hardcover ISBN 978-1-101-88731-8, April 2017)

Planet Pirates

The Planet Pirates trilogy is based on two books by Anne McCaffrey, Dinosaur Planet and Dinosaur Planet Survivors (1978 and 1984, jointly reissued as The Ireta Adventure in 1985 and The Mystery of Ireta in 2004), which also form the core of The Death of Sleep. ISFDB catalogs all five novels as the Ireta series.

Sassinak (Baen Books, March 1990), Anne McCaffrey and Moon

The Death of Sleep (Baen, June 1990), McCaffrey and Jody Lynn Nye

Generation Warriors (Baen, February 1991), McCaffrey and Moon

Omnibus edition: The Planet Pirates (Baen, October 1993), McCaffrey, Moon, and Nye

Other novels

Remnant Population (Hardcover ISBN 0-671-87718-6, May 1996)

The Speed of Dark (October 2002)

Collections

Elizabeth Moon’s list of her own short fiction

Lunar Activity (ISBN 978-0-671-69870-6, March 1990)—Ten short stories

Phases (ISBN 978-0-671-87855-9, December 1997)—Eight stories from Lunar Activity, and others previously uncollected.

both include “Those Who Walk in Darkness”—a Paksenarrion short story

Moon Flights (hardcover ISBN 1-59780-109-7, paperback ISBN 978-1-59780-110-2, August 2008)—Fifteen stories, including an original "Vatta's War" story, with an introduction by Anne McCaffrey

The limited edition hardcover (ISBN 978-1-59780-108-9, September 2007) contains an additional rare bonus story entitled "Fencing In".